"...before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience." –Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird-

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Treasures

Pebbles!! Oh the joy of scooping and sifting through the millions of tiny stones the ocean transformed from giant boulders for billions of years. Each pebble has it's unique shape, it's unique color which makes each pebble a find. My quest this day, as it has been before, was to find the perfectly rounded (like basketball round) white pebble. Through my years of searching I am beginning to think that nature does not create such a find. In fact, it leaves me wondering whether nature is trying in it's own way to teach us that conventional perfection is an illusion...but alas, we will leave that blog for another day. But today....Delight!!! Dark red pebbles, soft sea foam green pebbles, pearl and clear pebbles, pebbles that are an amalgam of the various rocks in which they were honed. Then there is the touch! Each stone seems so refined, so smooth. I find myself on a new search for the perfect worry stone. A stone of good size to fit between one's thumb and fingers, with the right degree of, yes, I'll say-smoothness. A stone, when worried between agitated fingers has the power to ease all the cares from ones soul to the very core of the stone. After years of worrying, a stone has a sleek, dolphin-like feel, truly a treasure.

The highlight of the afternoon was seeing how infectious the quest for treasure can be. James would come running up to me with each new pebble, describing just how unique THIS new pebble was. "Isn't this just the best, Grammy?" I look at him and I look at the stone...what can I say but, "Treasures!"So...speaking of treasures...we found absolutely spectacular specimens of sea glass,they were blue, aqua, clear, amber, white and each ...and we...and I...ahhh, treasures!

I love spending time with you in nature. Oh how you have influenced me in countless ways!! Hugging that tree forever in Yosemite- trying to hear its spirit! I just love that you speak to the world and it speaks back to you. You have taught us all that.

What a joy it was. I think it is hard to find the perfect pebble because if we find it, then what more would we strive for? I found tremendous joy in the search for the treasure, I'm sure we were quite the sight spralled out on the beach digging wildly through the rocks.